JOHNSON: “Off-season workouts have been going really well so far. Right now it is kind of slow motion just getting back into the feel of things; we’ve had three months off. Our rest is done and we’re all back working out hard again.”

Q: Can you talk a little bit about what impact singing a veteran like LB Donnie Edwards will do to help you?

JOHNSON: “Picking up Donnie Edwards was a great addition to our defense with him being one of the great guys in the NFL. He’s a good guy on and off the field. His presence in our defense is going to be great and I can wait for it. I’ve looked up to him for a while and he’s been in the league for a while. To have him in the same huddle as me is going to really spark up me and our defense. I just can’t wait to work with him and pick his brain a little bit because he knows a lot. He will teach me a whole bunch and I will take it and run with it.”

Q: What do you think about the new look for your linebacking corps as a whole?

JOHNSON: “I’m excited for this season knowing that we have LB Napoleon Harris and Donnie Edwards on the other side. This defense is growing and you are going to see a lot of different looks. We’ve got a lot of different things to tweak this year. I’ve been talking to the coaches and this is going to be a great year for us. Things are looking up right now.”

Q: Is there anything that you have to do to get to that next level personally and professionally?

JOHNSON: “Absolutely. For me to get to the next level I need to stay in the classroom mentally. Physically everything is there; I can run, jump and everything, but at the same time you need to understand the mental aspect of the game as a pro. Everybody can run fast and jump high, but when you get that extra pre-judgment before the play knowing what the offense is going to run (it’s beneficial). Being a pro is about being a good all-around player. Having Donnie and Napoleon in the huddle with me, being a linebacking corps, is going to really help me out. I can’t wait to get out there. I think this is going to be a big year for me; I’m telling all of the guys that I’m about to blow up.”

Q: News just broke that WR Dante Hall has been traded. What’s your reaction to that?

JOHNSON: “This is my first time hearing that, but he was a great player for us. He’s made his name here and everybody knows about the ‘X-Factor.’ My best wishes go out to him and he will do his job. The league is about changing and each year somebody is going to get traded. You take a loss losing a guy like Dante Hall, but at the same time we will keep rolling.”

Q: As a former first-round pick, what should the player that the Chiefs select be expecting coming to this organization?

JOHNSON: “It was great coming to this organization and of course you want to go higher; everybody knows my situation as I slipped a little bit in the draft. I’m glad I slipped, because I don’t want to be anywhere else but here in Kansas City. That’s what it’s all about; it’s not about where you get picked in the draft, it’s about what you do when you get there. Whoever gets drafted by Kansas City will be very grateful to come to a great organization where the fans love you and you get a lot of support.”

Q: What are you rooting for the club to do on draft day?

JOHNSON: “I really don’t care that much. Hopefully we’ll be able to take the best player available in the draft. We’re going to be great this year.”

Q: Does it feel like this is an off-season of turnover?

JOHNSON: “Definitely. Each year it changes up and this year there have been a lot of changes. Change is good, but we have the same coaching staff and we’re just bringing in some new guys to fill some slots. You will see a change in this whole team’s aspect.”

Q: Reflecting on last year’s defense, what is something that can catapult this unit into a top 10 defense this season?

JOHNSON: “We broke down a little bit towards the end of the season and that’s something that we need to work on. Obviously we still went to the playoffs and everyone knows we had a handful of games that we could have won, but you can’t count those. We’ve got to win those games and a big thing is being able to win our away games; getting at least half of them knowing that we have to win all of them here in Kansas City. You’ve got to get all of your home games, that’s an in the bucket thing, but winning those games on the road is important. Like last year going to San Diego we wouldn’t have been in that position to have to win that game to better our chances. Don’t get me wrong, we are going to get those wins like San Diego, but you don’t have that pressure on you when you win away games before that. Coach Herm (Edwards) has a good system going on here.”

Q: It has to be a daunting task to open and close the season with two road games in a row.

JOHNSON: Definitely. Knowing our home games here; most likely we are going to win our home games because our fans are unbelievable and playing in Kansas City is a tough place to play.”

Rausch

04-25-2007, 10:49 PM

Love that attitude, still waiting for the talent to become production...

Numbah One

04-25-2007, 10:50 PM

Love that attitude, still waiting for the talent to become production...

DJ was great last year. If he hadn't gotten hurt he would have had 7-8 sacks.

DaneMcCloud

04-25-2007, 10:59 PM

DJ was great last year. If he hadn't gotten hurt he would have had 7-8 sacks.

Great? Ha. Great is Shawne Merriman missing 4 games but being in the mix for DPOY and a Pro Bowler. DJ was good, but that's about it.

Hopefully, injuries aren't going to play a major part in his career.

Numbah One

04-25-2007, 11:01 PM

Great? Ha. Great is Shawne Merriman missing 4 games but being in the mix for DPOY and a Pro Bowler. DJ was good, but that's about it.

Hopefully, injuries aren't going to play a major part in his career.

OK, yes, but saying he didn't produce isn't accurate. There was a big difference when he wasn't on the field.

Tribal Warfare

04-25-2007, 11:04 PM

Great? Ha. Great is Shawne Merriman missing 4 games but being in the mix for DPOY and a Pro Bowler.

While he was juicing the roids

Halfcan

04-25-2007, 11:34 PM

we need to trade him for a late rounder-he is getting old-mecca

thats if we could even find a team that would take him

SNR

04-25-2007, 11:52 PM

Great? Ha. Great is Shawne Merriman missing 4 games but being in the mix for DPOY and a Pro Bowler. DJ was good, but that's about it.

Hopefully, injuries aren't going to play a major part in his career.He doesn't yet have a gay name like "lights out" yet nor does he cry like a bitch when the other team mocks him when his team loses in the playoffs.

Mr. Flopnuts

04-26-2007, 12:07 AM

I was jacked when we drafted this guy. I remember watching the draft praying that he would fall to us. I didn't expect Merriman to go before him and when he did I praised the football Gods. Merriman has been a stud, but I think DJ will be as well. We have a D again and we're about to find out a lot about this guy this year. He's another one I'm really looking forward to seeing. The nucleus of this defense is something I'm really excited about. Now if we can just find the fuggin offense again.

Mecca

04-26-2007, 12:10 AM

I could careless about his sack numbers this defense isn't about LB's and sacks it's about Derrick Brooks type play at LB........

Halfcan might be funny if all of his supposed humor wasn't so absurd.

StcChief

04-26-2007, 08:35 AM

Great? Ha. Great is Shawne Merriman missing 4 games but being in the mix for DPOY and a Pro Bowler. DJ was good, but that's about it.

Hopefully, injuries aren't going to play a major part in his career.

The good thing about 'roid boy is the now have rule made in his honor.